Fly,
  Great question, how do you get started.  Some of the best resources in the club would be Smitty, Russ, Mike Wolsky, and myself.  I was fortunate enough to have a father who was a touring pro when I was growing up and seen first hand the time and commitment it takes the fish at the national level.  Believe me, if you want to fish at the high regional level, or national level, it is a full time job now adays.  Best bet is to do what Russ suggested.  It is the route I have taken likewise.  Join a good local club, ( I am partial to Western Bass Club ), and try to fish with as many different boaters as possible to gain valuable experience on local waters and subtleties in techniques.  From there branch out.  Try some state federation events, ABA, or Northwest.  If time and resources permit, try fishing one of the regional events that FLW will be putting on in the next couple of years.  I believe the closest event to us for the upcoming year will be at Clearlake in California or the Delta in Stockton CA.  Spend as much time as you can possible get on waters fishing.  Either as a boater or non boater.  Time on the water can never be enough to become good.

Mark

Fly,

When I first came to Washington I joined the Kent Bassmasters and we made a state team from the top 10 guys out of our club. The best 5 were boaters at the qualifiers and the last 5 were backseaters. I was fortunate enough to be a boater for all the qualifying events I fished. I fished the state qualifiers for about 8 years and my best finish was 11th in the state which at that time they only took the top ten. As far as fishing the Pro events I took some vacation time off to fish them. You are looking at about a week for practice and tournament.

As far as backseating in the club I see most guys switch up partners on a regular basis throughout the year. I personally fished with two different people this year as many guys will do the same. To fish at the club level is a great way to get to know the waters we fish in Washington. Many of the guys in the club are very experienced bass fisherman and can help you learn the water better as well as help you on technique, etc.

If you want to get involved in the state qualifiers I believe you would have to sign up with a different club in order to fish the events. Some of the guys in our club fish in both clubs in order to do this. Some guys just fish the ABA and the NW series. To each his own. Clubs such as Kent bassmasters,Puyallup, and Evergreen I believe fish the State Qualifier series.

As far as finding a backseat, just ask around on either the forum or at club events.

I wish you the best in your endeavor to become a better fisherman.

Russ

Russ, do you want a back seater perhaps?   

Thanks for the reply Russ.
Can you lay out how you went about it? What clubs did you fish etc? How did you hold a job and travel to fish?

I have been wanting to do this for years since grade school. I finally have a job I do not work weekends so I can fish the weekend tournaments with no problem.

When I join Western Bass how do I go about finding a back seat to hone my skills?  Are the same boat owners and backseaters togther all the tounaments?

Thanks.

Fly,

Your question is complex. The first thing is how far do want to go? There are many clubs out there that are federated clubs that compete at the local level and make a state team to compete at the state level. They take the top 10-12 guys from the state qualifiers and send them to the regional event. If you win your division you go onto the nationals. If you win there you go onto the Bassmaster classic.

Now the above is a long process and can take years of practice, or you can fish the FLW series as a Pro and go onto there championship series if you do well.

Now if you are just a beginner I would highly recommend fishing tournaments as a backseater thru the club level for awhile until you get enough knowledge and confidence in your abilities to go further.

Other considerations you might want to think about are finances and time. How much time and money do you want to spend? To fish at the Pro level you must have the time and money-gas,hotels,etc. to persue this endeavor.

Just a few thoughts. I personally have fished in three Pro events from east to west coast and have found that fishing locally is more fun. Thats not to say you can't do both, I just don't have the time or money to fish them all.

My .02
Russ

I want to start tournament fishing. I do not have a boat (yet).
I am wondering what the main differences are between the different clubs. I see three main ones mentioned here and in local publications.

-Western Bass Club
-Northwest Bass Association
-Puyallup Hawg Hunters

And I know there are others.

Do you belong to all of them? Why or why not?

Wich clubs can you go the furthest in? Meaning qualify for the FLW and bassmasters circuit?
I have looked at the different web pages and it is confusing to figure out which clubs lead to qualifying for a pro tournament.


Thanks for your response!